RenHoek

Thanks for this write-up, guys- FWIW, I tried the knuckle 1st, but couldn't get it off (w/o proper de-knuckler tool), so I just did the strut bolts as detailed. VERY EASY!! Just mark the top bolt and bracket with a chisel so you know where to put it back. I also took off the bolt holding the anti-sway bar to the lower arm to get a little more room. I removed the mounting point bolt for the ABS cable, to give that cable some slack. Getting the old shaft out of the hub required a bit of convincing with the 20lb sledge (and a block of oak). It was good to know that it was just a slide-out job, and there weren't any ojesus clips to remove too... All in all, not a tough job. This was the driver's side on a 2000 Outback, BTW...The passenger side will be a little tougher someday, since the exhaust is right there. Oh...BTW - the two holes for the spring pin on the DOJ-end on my new/rebuilt shaft were BOTH beveled. So, that was a good tip to know that one of the holes is between splines, and the other one was on a spline. I can see where that'd be easy to miss. Thanks again! -RenHoek

For us noobs, what's considered an "Early EJ"? I have a 2000 Outback with a blown CV boot that I'm trying to read up on. I've got the replacement axle ready to go, but don't want to booger up anything in the process. Thx- RenHoek